:::: MENU ::::

Mar 18, 2015    |       13 comments

Quick Trip on a Shoestring

by

This weekend we will travel for the first time since returning from Texas last August. This is an all time record for me staying in one place, spending every consecutive night in my own bed. We are going to DC for Little Gymnast’s state meet. We have budgeted $300 for the entire trip. Here’s the plan:

We will leave Friday morning after breakfast and spend the afternoon touring IKEA and dreaming of the day when we have a home again or at least enough room to each have a bed. It will serve as a math lesson using room diagrams to see what they can fit in their imaginary room and then money with a set budget for their room (kind of like the Princess and I did when we went car shopping.) I think it will be a lot of fun and give us good ideas for the future.

We are staying two nights at a hotel, my favorite hotel chain Hyatt Place using points I’ve accumulated over the years. Yeah! Breakfast is included.

Saturday Little Gymnast will compete with an eye on making regionals (his coaches are fairly certain he will make it to the next level this year.)

And then Sunday we are planning to head into DC and do two things: see the White House, History Buff’s request and then spend some time in the Smithsonian’s which are free.

So with just three days away, two will be filled with education experiences…a homeschooling win!

Home Sunday night.

So where will the money be spent:

Gas: $30 (will have left over when we return but budgeted for a full tank)

Dog Care: $90 (have found a trusted neighbor in our apartment and I am so thrilled with the care the dogs will get and the price)

Transportation: $30 (I don’t drive into the city, but rather park and ride the subway.  We already have the cards, but not sure how much money I will need to add for the round trip to and from so this is a guesstimate.)

Food: $150 (8 meals while we are gone: 2 breakfast covered via hotel, 3 lunches covered by food from home, and 3 dinners, that’s the tricky part.)

I have 6 meals to cover (since breakfasts are already covered.)  Planning to take food from home for lunches – sandwich stuff, crackers and peanut butter and granola bars. Friday we will eat a hardy pasta meal somewhere to prep Gymnast for his competition the next day.  Haven’t figured out dinner for Saturday and Sunday will probably be fast food on the road home.

We are all pretty excited about this mini-roadtrip.  Think we all need a break from our lives and this will hit the spot!

Mar 18, 2015    |       4 comments

Clothing – Win!

by

It’s that time of year again.  The seasons are changing and the children are growing so fast I can’t keep up.  Three of my four have pretty much outgrown all of their clothes, including shoes over the winter.  In years, past I could count on help from my younger two’s father to help with clothes, but that is not the case this year. So what do we do…we went shopping!

Thrift store win as displayed today as we left for school, on our first of many to come 80+ degree days.  Every item of clothing displayed in this photo of my oldest three this morning was purchased yestarday at our local thrift store…a whopping total of $20 for all three outfits.  With the Princess winning the Most Affordable outfit at a whopping $4.

 

2015-03-17 08.43.51

I’m sure most of you have already experienced the joy of thrift stores.  But here are my tips for being successful at thrift store shopping:

  1. Wear clothes that you can slip clothes over or under to try on.  This is not a MUST everywhere but with ours there’s a No return policy and No fitting rooms, so we find this saves us money and disappointment.
  2. Patience is key.  If you don’t find what you want today, check back tomorrow.  Thrift stores are constantly getting new items in and re-stocking their shelves.
  3. Be thorough.  Princess is planning to cut off several pairs of thrift store jeans for cut offs for her hang out clothes for the summer.  We actually failed on this one yesterday and got all the way to the checkout counter with a pair of jeans that had a hold in a not acceptable place.  Thank goodness for great customer service who caught our mistake.
  4. Be sure.  Just like retail shops, if you buy it and don’t wear it, it’s a waste of money (especially if you can’t return it.) I really push this with my kids, even with the items that are just $1.99.
  5. Go when you have time.  Thrift shopping is not something you can do quickly, things are not necessarily organized by size or color or much of anything, so you have to look.  It’s not something that you can do in a rush.  So prepare for a wandering afternoon through racks.

It can be a daunting task, but so worth is financially.  I am happy to announce that each child got a good start on their summer clothes wardrobe…and I only spent a whopping $60. Thrift store WIN!

1 … 882 883 884 885 886 … 1,951